The present invention relates to a connector and a terminal holder, and more particularly, to a connector utilizing capacitive-coupling to transfer signals within the structure of a connector.
In recent years, electronic apparatuses have been increased in frequency, and, as a result, non-contact signal transmission is required of a connector for use in electronic apparatuses. Known examples of such non-contact signal transmission include signal transmission through capacitive-coupling and signal transmission through electromagnetic induction.
To this point, Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2002-289309 A discloses capacitive-coupling terminals provided to one connector and terminals provided to another connector by opposing each other across a spatial interval. This patent application is an example in which a dielectric is disposed between the terminals opposed to each other across the spatial interval.
When arranging a dielectric between terminals, air or the like may be allowed to enter the gaps therebetween when the contact between the terminals and the dielectric is not sufficiently intimate. There is a dramatic difference in the capacitance between the terminals where the terminals and the dielectric are held in intimate contact with each other without involving any gaps and the case in which air or the like is allowed to enter the gaps therebetween and where the terminals and the dielectric are held together in such intimate contact, i.e. where air gaps may be present. In the connector art, it is desired to maintain the electrical characteristics of connectors for stability in signal transmission. There is hence a fear of a desired characteristic not being maintained where such contact may not be maintained in a capacitively-coupled connector.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem. It is accordingly a main object of the present invention to provide a connector and a terminal holder making it possible to suppress a change in capacitance between terminals.